Beyond Reason
by dragonflybeach
Summary: Beyond reason, there is faith. Beyond faith, there is hope. Beyond hope, sometimes there are miracles.
1. Prologue

He should have known there was something different this time. Something wrong. More wrong, he should say.

When Astoria had miscarried their first child at eight weeks, there had been tears. When their second had been stillborn at eight months, there had been a flood of tears. When their third was lost at four months, the healers had sedated her because of her hysterical grief.

She had told Draco something was wrong with baby number four. It hadn't moved all day, and at five and a half months along, she was used to their child moving quite a bit. He had taken her to St Mungos with the familiar sick feeling of dread, where the healers confirmed that their baby boy no longer had a heartbeat.

Draco had choked back his grief and disappointment, trying to be strong for her, yet again.

She hadn't needed him to, this time.

Astoria had been surprisingly dry-eyed, accepting the death of yet another little Malfoy with an eerie calm. When the healer gave her the option of taking a potion to induce labour or letting nature take its course, she told them she wanted to get it over with.

Another Malfoy infant had come silently into a somber delivery room, and the following day, his parents left the hospital empty handed again. His mother had been settled into bed, where his damp eyed grandmothers fussed over her, while his father locked himself in the study to cry alone.

It was dark throughout the house when he made his way upstairs and slipped into bed beside his wife, whom he hoped was sleeping. But she tensed ever so slightly when she felt his damp cheek against her shoulder, and he knew she wasn't. Neither of them spoke, and eventually sleep took him.

It was rather fitful, however, and Draco awakened an hour or two later to find himself alone in bed. He actually felt somewhat relieved, believing that Astoria had crept off to do her own crying. He thought of going looking for her, to the nursery, or maybe to the attic, where she sometimes went to be alone, but if she wanted him with her, she would have woken him.

Shortly after dawn, he was awakened by shouting house elves and his mother's blood curdling scream. He ran to the side door, which his mother tried to block to him and his mother in law. Draco shoved past her, while Narcissa held back Cassandra, both of them crying and babbling nonsense.

Astoria was still in her nightgown. Her broken body lay in the roses, covered in tiny cuts made by the thorns. Blood pooled beneath her head, but he couldn't bring himself to turn her over to find its source. He looked up to see that she had gone to the attic. The curtains of the attic window fluttered in the breeze, spilling over the frame.

He knelt beside her, holding her hand which had long ago gone cold, until the aurors took him away. They took him back to the Ministry, and asked him accusations that passed as questions, such as "So you decided she was never going to provide you with a healthy heir and tossed her from the roof so you could marry someone else?" They had finally, mostly, stopped, when someone brought in the letter they found on Draco's desk. It carried plenty of its own illogical rambling accusations, declaring that obviously the gods were punishing Draco for his Death Eater activities by killing his children so if Astoria couldn't be with her babies in this world, she would go to where they were.

Someone had asked if he had written it, just for good measure.

They finally let him go home so he could plan a funeral.

That had been even more awkward than funerals usually were. Half of his friends weren't even married yet. None of them had any idea what to say to a twenty four year old man who had just buried his twenty two year old wife, after she killed herself, blaming him for the loss of their babies.

When everyone left that evening, Draco went upstairs, picked out his favorite clothes, and left the house.

He didn't go back.


	2. Chapter 1

Luna was at his house again, this time with new gloves for him.

After Astoria's death, she had adopted him like one of the half dozen stray animals that lived with her. He never knew when to expect her, so it made it much harder to hide from her. He wouldn't see her for two weeks, and then she would show up three days in a row. She brought him meals, carefully wrapped in silver paper. He had a freezer full of them. She made sure he brought his winter clothes out when the whether turned cold, and checked his summer wardrobe for any mending that needed done before the days became too hot for wool robes. She dragged him out to get a haircut when he needed one and on a few occasions, she brought others over to visit him so he wouldn't seem like such a social outcast.

He didn't fight her too much. He didn't have the energy, and some days, couldn't bring himself to care. He had to admit, he did need looking after, and she did a fair job of it. He owed her to let her do what she pleased, after his family had held her hostage and tortured her.

And most importantly, she had been Astoria's friend, her dorm mate in Ravenclaw, and on nights he wanted to talk about his dead wife, Luna was a good listener.

Draco lost himself in his work. He spent long hours at the office, and went straight home, so he didn't have to hear the two old ladies in the next booth at the pub titter about that poor man whose wife killed herself. His mother had come around quite a bit the first six months, but when a year went by and Draco showed no signs of snapping out of it, she decided to do the things she had always wanted. Travel and spend his father's money, while his father cooled his heels in Azkaban. She still called and sent owls from exotic locations, and still fretted from time to time that he had no interest in going out and meeting a nice woman. But for the most part, she finally left him alone.

Astoria's family sent him cards on holidays, but that was about it. Daphne was married to Theo now, with one healthy child and another on the way. Robert was cordial to Draco when they ran into each other, but Astoria's mother still didn't seem certain whether she blamed Draco or not.

She might as well. Draco certainly blamed himself.

It would have been a dismally lonely existence if not for Luna's presence. Actually, it was a dismally lonely existence even with Luna's presence.

On April 4, Draco didn't go to work. He didn't even get out of bed until after noon, and then only because he couldn't hold the contents of his bladder another moment.

It was Astoria's twenty fifth birthday. Except that she had been gone a little over two years. She would never be older than twenty two.

Their first child had been due on her twentieth birthday. They probably would have had a double party for mother and son.

They never knew the gender of the first baby. The other three had all been boys, and Draco believed the first one had too. He wondered, again, if any of them would have survived if they had been girls. The healers hadn't really thought so, but then again, the healers had also told them that surely the next child would be healthy, and they had been wrong three times. He wondered, again, how many children they would have had if having babies had been as easy for Astoria as it obviously had been for Molly Weasley.

He sat on his bed, staring into nothing until the shadows lengthened and darkness began to creep into the room. Then lights came on and Luna came in. She carried a cake with a huge slice out of it and a six pack of butterbeer.

"Got hungry on the way over?" he asked, all snark gone from his tone, as it had been for two years.

"It's Astoria's birthday cake. I took a piece to the cemetery before I came here." she shrugged.

He nodded, not surprised, because that was just such a Luna Lovegood thing to do.

She set the cake on the cedar chest at the end of his bed, summoning plates and silverware from the kitchen. She opened a bottle of butterbeer and handed it to him, pocketing the cork. He dutifully took a sip, and realized he hadn't eaten or drank anything all day. She cut a generous slice of cake for him, and he forced himself to take a bite. It was delicious. Everything Luna brought him was delicious. She just had never realized that he had no appetite or interest in food.

She drank her butterbeer and ate her cake in silence. He managed to get down half the cake and two butterbeers.

She finished eating, collected their dishes, and took them downstairs. He heard the faint noises that told him she had washed the dishes and put them away.

She came back to find him in the same place she had left him, sitting cross-legged at the end of the bed, holding an empty bottle, and staring at nothing.

"Draco," she said softly. "This is it. I'm not coming back."

His head jerked up. "What?"

She had tears in her eyes, but she seemed angry. Both shocked him. All the times she had come over, all the coddling she had done, all of her fussing over him, had always been with her serene smile on her face. She had held his hand while he cried, she had stroked his back while he raged, but she had never displayed those emotions herself.

"I can't do this any more." she choked back a sob. "I stood at Astoria's grave and promised her I would watch over you. It's been two years and two months, and I still wonder nearly every time if I'm going to come in here and find you dead by your own hand. There's no spark in you any more. You don't care about anything or anyone, including yourself. It's come to the point I believe maybe it would be less cruel to walk away and let you kill yourself, because there's no more left of what makes you Draco. You died inside when Astoria died, and all that's left is a shell of a body that doesn't want to be here. I've tried so hard to bring you out of it, to get you to call me Loony and tell me that was the stupidest thing you've ever heard or laugh at me or just react, period. I've brought you every known cure for wrackspurts and nothing has helped. I want you to look around and realize that yes, Astoria is gone and you lost four children and it hurts, but there is still a world out there that's worth living in. You can't or you won't and I just can't do this any more."

She sank down in the chair, put her hands over her face and began to cry.

"Luna, please don't cry." he begged her, tears streaming down his own face. He stumbled off the bed, falling onto his knees by her feet, lifting her head to look at him, cupping her cheeks in his hands. "Please don't leave me. You're the only one who cares. You're the only want who wants to fix me. Please don't give up on me."

"Draco ... " she shook her head.

"Luna, please." he begged. "It's like I don't know how to feel any more. I've shut it off for so long. But I'll try. I promise I'll try if you don't leave me."

She looked into his eyes uncertainly. And in that moment, he leaned in and did what he had always done when Astoria looked uncertain.

He kissed her.

His lips touched hers and electricity shot through him, and for the first time since the morning he found his wife's body, he felt alive. He eased her lips apart and slipped his tongue inside and slid his hands back into her hair. Luna moaned deep in her throat and he kissed her even more.

He finally broke for air, leaning his forehead against hers. "I feel alive right this minute." he whispered. "For the first time in twenty six months, I feel alive."

"That's a good start." she murmured, and leaned in to kiss him again. Her palms wrapped around his cheeks, and then slid down his back to make their way underneath his shirt, to graze her nails over his bare skin.

"Luna," he gasped. He pulled back, leaned back on his heels, reached back to take her hands and hold them, looking her in the face.

"Let me make you feel." she pleaded.

"This ... no." He shook his head. "This goes far beyond taking care of your friend's husband."

"Draco." she brought her hands to his face again. "I haven't taken care of you for twenty six months because I loved Astoria. I did it because I love you."

"Luna." he frowned, not sure what to do with that information.

"I'm a big girl." she promised him. "No regrets."


	3. Chapter 2

Later, they lay in his bed, staring at the canopy overhead.

"Luna, I'm sorry." he whispered.

"Draco, don't." she pressed a finger to his lips.

"You should have told me you were a virgin." he huffed. "I would have been more gentle with you."

"I wouldn't change anything." she assured him.

"How were you twenty five years old and a virgin, anyway?" he narrowed his eyes at her.

"You know the only serious relationship I've ever had was with Neville." she sighed. "He and I weren't ready to go that far at the time, and there hasn't been anyone since."

"You should have told me." he said stubbornly.

"This is the most I've heard you talk since the funeral." Luna smirked at him.

"Luna," he sighed. "I meant it. I will do anything if you don't leave me. But I don't know if I can do this."

"By this, you mean a relationship?" she asked.

He nodded.

"I'll make you a deal." she offered. "You make an effort to feel, every day. You get out of the house other than going to work at least twice a month. You do those things, and I won't press you for anything between us. We'll just take things as they come."

"Okay." he whispered, pulling her to his side and burying his face in her hair.

* * *

Luna flooed him the next day. He told her that he had smiled that morning. She was proud of him. She also told him that she was picking him up after work the next night, so be ready in casual clothes. He protested, but she reminded him of his promise that he would leave the house at least twice a month.

She took him to a Quidditch match. He hadn't been to a Quidditch match since before Astoria died. It was the Cannons against the Arrows, and he was a Falcons fan, but it was the most light she had seen in his eyes in two years.

"If I had known it was this easy, I would have done this long ago." she teased.

"It wouldn't have been, if you hadn't broken the dam night before last." he told her, leaning in to whisper in her ear. "Come home with me."

She smiled and nodded, then waved at Ron and George Weasley, who were giving her strange looks.

By the time they were out of the floo, Draco's tongue was in her mouth and his hands were on her bum.

"Wait." she pulled away from him, pulling a foil square from her purse. "We should use this."

"What is it?" he asked, pulling her back in for another kiss.

"Muggle birth control." she mumbled around his lips. "Hermione gave them to me a few months ago, when Ginny found out she was pregnant. It's called a condom."

He held up the packet. "Please tell me you can chew it and don't have to swallow it whole." he frowned.

"No. That's not how you do it." she giggled. By the time she finished her explanation, she was doubled over laughing at his horrified expression.

"No. Just ... No. Absolutely not." he shook his head. "I am not putting that on my ... "

"I don't have any birth control potion." she reminded him.

"We'll do other things. We won't actually have sex." he hedged.

The next night, he was desperate enough to try the condom. He was not impressed.

"I will give you 100 galleons if you go buy birth control potion first thing in the morning." he told her.

She laughed. He did too.

"What happened to the not wanting a relationship?" she asked.

"We're still going to wait and see on that." he replied. "But you did remind me that I really do like to have sex."

She started on birth control potion the next morning. She stayed away from him for two days to make sure it was in her system, as the lady at the apothecary had instructed.

In the meantime, Hermione and Ron invited her for dinner. They expressed concern that she was getting over her head with a man who had been in a two year depression mourning his wife. She thanked them for worrying.

He practically attacked her as she came through the floo, and they ended up ruining the carpet in the hall.

She had to go out of town for three days, to a cousin's wedding. When she came back, he held her for an hour, just held her. He told her that he had missed her so much he hadn't eaten for two days.

"Draco, that's not healthy." she shook her head. "Maybe we should back off ... "

"Or maybe you should move in with me." he suggested. "You make me better. I can't function without you."

"Draco." she sighed. "Obsession is not a good thing."

"Then move in with me and help me get it out of my system." he smirked.

In the end, she did move in with him, but not until after he swore that he would not let himself fall into that kind of depression again. And to her surprise, he did continue to improve.

"See?" he told her. "You should have shagged me and moved in a long time ago."

Their newfound bliss was magical, but sometimes, Luna laid awake, watching him sleep, with the sinking feeling that it was all about to be snatched away from her.

Six and a half weeks into their relationship, Luna woke up nauseous. She figured it was the leftover chicken she had eaten last night, and didn't say anything to Draco. After all, he never ate leftovers, and swore that one day she was going to get food poisoning from doing so. While she was glad to have the old sarcastic, arrogant Draco back for the most part, there were times she didn't want to inflate his ego by letting him know he was right, and this was one of them.

By the next morning, she was fine. The morning after that, however, was a different story.

Draco woke her by nuzzling her neck and trailing his fingers up her thigh. She opened her eyes and tried to smile at him, but the sickness hit her all at once. She shoved him away, bolting for the bathroom, barely making it in time before her stomach emptied. She flushed the toilet, rinsed her mouth, and wiped her face. As she reached to put the towel back, she caught sight in the mirror of Draco, white faced and horrified, standing behind her.

She turned, but before she could ask him what was wrong, he shook his head vehemently and began to back away.

"No. No. NononoNO! You cannot be pregnant!"


	4. Chapter 3

"I'm sure it was something I ate." Luna reached for him, but he continued to back away.

"No." he shook his head again. "You haven't had your period since we've been together."

"Oh." Her eyes and mouth went round as she realized he was right.

He crossed over to the wardrobe, pulling out clothes. "Get dressed. We'll go to St Mungos."

"Now?" she asked.

"Now." he confirmed.

They flooed to the hospital, where the mediwitches on the obstetrics unit were openly shocked to see Draco.

Once she was checked in, Draco paced the room twice before telling her he was going to get a cup of coffee.

Luna had never known Draco Malfoy to drink coffee, ever.

He returned half an hour later.

"Has the healer been in yet?" he growled.

"Yes." she nodded. "She went to get some information for me."

"You are?" he sighed.

"I'm pregnant." she placed a hand on her belly.

He punched the wall hard enough to dent the plaster.

"Get rid of it." he hissed.

"No." she replied calmly.

He shoved both hands through his hair and paced the length of the room again before turning to her.

"Luna, I love you, but don't put me through this."

"That's the first time you've told me that you love me." she smiled sadly.

"If you love me, don't ask me to sit around and wait for another child to die." he looked at the wall above her head.

"Draco, everything is fine." she tried to reassure him. "The healer says everything looks good and there's no reason ... "

"They told Astoria that too!" he cried. "They told her that, and they were wrong. Every time."

"Draco." she stood and walked over to him, reaching out her arms.

"Don't." his voice was low and dangerous.

She dropped her arms, and stood there looking at him.

He shook his head. "I'm sorry, Luna. If you get rid of it, fine. If not, I want you to move out. I can't go through this again."

He turned and walked away.

Her things were gone when he got home from work. She had left a note on the table.

_Draco,_

_There's something else I need to tell you about the pregnancy. _

_I love you. _

_Luna_

He hastily flipped the parchment over, scrawled a note on the back, and whistled for his owl. The bird came on cue. Something else he could thank Luna for, because he probably would have let it starve if it had been left up to Draco.

He sent the owl off to her father's house, wondering if the man would come after him when Luna told her father of Draco's response. He really didn't care, other than to think that if Xeno killed him and went to Azkaban, Luna would be alone.

* * *

Three days later, Draco was sitting on his bed when he heard the floo activate downstairs.

"Malfoy!" shouted a voice that Draco would just as soon not hear.

He sighed and yelled back "Upstairs." because he would rather not have an auror destroy his house looking for him. The footsteps crossed the sitting room and slowly climbed the stairs, pausing at the doorway.

"What are you doing here, Potter?" Draco drawled, not even looking in that direction.

"Your secretary reported you missing." Potter replied. "Apparently you haven't shown up for work or answered owls or floo calls in two days."

"I didn't want to talk to anyone." Draco sighed. "Is that illegal?"

"No, but it does worry people, and then the auror office gets a call to come over here and see if you're dead." Harry answered.

Draco could _hear_ Potter's eye roll.

"And you drew the short straw this time, to come see if I'd finally done it?" Draco finally looked at him, sad resignation in his voice.

"I was in the office when the call came in." Potter shrugged.

"Where's your partner?" Draco asked. "Don't they usually send two when there might be a dead body to find?"

"We're short handed again." Harry said softly.

"So Weasley and Longbottom are out on some important mission and you're left minding the Ministry?" Draco shook his head. "How far the mighty have fallen."

"Ron and Neville both left the auror department." Potter folded his arms. "Ron's gone to work with his brother in the joke shop, and Neville took the Herbology professorship at Hogwarts."

"Sprout retired?" Draco raised one eyebrow. "That's surprising. She's somewhat young to retire."

"Her father is not doing well. She's going to help him out." Potter frowned slightly, as if unsure about the conversation.

"Oh." was Draco's response.

"Where's Luna?" Potter asked somewhat suspiciously.

"Gone." Draco dropped his head, looking toward the floor.

"As in for good?" Potter's voice was a tick higher in his surprise.

"Probably." Draco sighed.

"I'm sorry." Potter said softly.

"Don't." Draco snorted. "You'll be back over here to hex me when you find out why."

"Did you do something to her?" Potter barked out sharply.

"Not intentionally." Draco rested his elbows on his knees and put his head in his hands.

"But you did do something to her?" Potter persisted.

Draco blew out a long breath and pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes. "I haven't done anything illegal. I was just my usual heartless, toerag self. If anything is surprising, it should be the fact I managed to keep her around as long as I did."

"Malfoy ... " Potter began.

"Just shut it, Potter!" he looked up suddenly. "I don't want to talk about my feelings like some little bloody Hufflepuff. Go tell your boss I still don't have the balls to take myself out, and tell my secretary I'll be in when I damn well feel like it. She can't fire me. I own the company."

"Malfoy, you need help." Potter said softly.

"I don't want any." Draco shook his head.

* * *

Potter had left surprisingly quietly.

Draco realized why several hours later when his floo engaged again.

"Draco!" shouted a female voice nearly on the verge of panic.

He sighed and made his way downstairs, where his mother was lighting the sconces and dusting the furniture. If she thought the place was a mess now, wait a few more days. At least Luna had cleaned in the past week.

"Mother." he tried to keep the irritability out of his voice. Tried. "I thought you were in Thailand."

"I was." she looked him over from head to toe.

"Potter called you." it came out as a statement rather than a question.

"Of course he did." Narcissa waved a hand. "Why do you think I contribute generously to the Auror Widows Fund every year?"

Draco dropped onto the loveseat, staring at the fire his mother had started in the grate.

"Potter told me that Luna is gone." Narcissa perched gracefully on the chair at right angle to her son.

"Yeah." he agreed, studying his knuckles.

"I'm sure that if you call her and apologize, she'll come back." she again waved dismissively.

"I threw her out." he informed her with a sigh.

"You did what?" his mother's voice raised slightly. "Draco, why would you do such a thing? She's good for you. She's the only person who's been able to get through to you since ... the tragedy."

He wrapped his arms around his waist and stared at the floor just beyond his feet, seeming to fold in on himself. "She's pregnant." he said so softly Narcissa almost didn't hear him.

"You can't be serious." his mother sat down beside him. "I never would have dreamed she would cheat on you."

"She didn't." he murmured.

"It's your child?" her voice almost squeaked.

He nodded.

"Draco, that's wonderful, sweetheart. You have another chance to have a family ... "

"It's not wonderful!" he shouted, startling her. "I can't go through this again! I can't spend the next however many months waiting for her to lose another baby!"

"What if the problem was with Astoria?" she suggested. "You and Luna could have a healthy baby. You won't know unless you try."

"And if the problem was with me?" he huffed. "We'll find out when she's rushed to St Mungos. I can't take the chance. I told her to get rid of it and she refused, so I told her to leave."

"Oh, Draco." she put her arm around him. "I know you've been through so much, but you can't stop living because you might get hurt again."

"But there are only so many times you can get your heart broken before there's nothing left of it." he said sadly.


	5. Chapter 4

Narcissa did not go back to Thailand. She informed Draco that Luna had moved back into the flat over the cleaner's shop where she had lived before moving in with Draco. But no matter how much his mother pleaded, whined, nagged, or played the guilt card, Draco refused to call or visit Luna. He even refused dinner on his birthday at the Manor, certain that his mother had ulterior motives.

Surprisingly, the only one of Luna's friends and family who confronted Draco directly was the Weasel King. He had raged and thundered about how Draco was still the selfish, stone hearted bastard he had always been. Draco waited patiently until he finished.

"When you've buried a wife and four children, come back and we'll talk about it again." Draco informed him coldly. "In the meantime, maybe you should talk to your brother."

"Which one, the one you maimed?" Ron growled.

"No. The one who knows what it's like to have no reason to live." Draco turned and walked out of the room, even though it was his office, leaving a gaping Weasley to wonder how Malfoy knew of George's suicide attempts.

Three weeks and a day after Draco walked out of St Mungo's, Harry Potter stood in the middle of Draco's office.

"Head Auror." Draco gestured at Potter's robes and then continued working. "Impressive. But I don't recall inviting you for a celebratory tea."

"I'm here on official business." Potter said softly.

"Some hysterical housewife reported suspected Death Eater activity and it's time for me to be questioned again?" Draco rolled his eyes.

"It's Luna."

Draco froze in the act of shuffling the papers on his desk. He ground his teeth, inhaling and exhaling deeply.

"She's in intensive care at St Mungo's." Potter continued.

"She's lost it then." Draco responded in a voice devoid of emotion. "Ten weeks. She made it farther than Astoria the first time."

"The babies are all right, so far."

Draco's head snapped up so fast it should have caused whiplash.

"Twins." Potter glared at the shock on Draco's face. "It's Luna. She's having morning sickness to the point that she can't keep down any food or drink. Not even water. She's severely dehydrated. They're trying to give her fluids and restorative potions. Right now she's losing weight because the babies are drawing what nutrients they can from her."

"Parasites." Draco snorted. "Sounds about right for my offspring."

"She's helped you a lot." Potter observed. "You've got your sarcastic, dry personality back. For the longest you were too depressed to snipe at me."

"You missed it?" Draco hitched an eyebrow at him.

"Believe it or not, I did." Potter shrugged. "There were several times we were called to do welfare checks on you that I honestly expected to go in and find your body."

Draco went back to shuffling papers on his desk, suddenly uncomfortable. "Couldn't get that lucky, now could you?"

"Malfoy."

The blond didn't look up.

Potter sighed. "Draco."

The head popped up in shock again.

"I know you've been through more than one man should have to endure." Potter shook his head. "I mean all the way back to sixth year, and everything that's happened since. But Luna loves you, and she didn't give up on you for two very dark years. Don't let love like that go to waste."

Draco stared at the door for a very long time after Potter left.

* * *

Narcissa was shocked when she stepped out of the floo to find her son sitting in the dark.

"Draco?" she rushed to his side. "Sweetheart, what are you doing here?"

"Were you at the hospital?" he asked softly.

"Yes, of course." she brushed his hair back, looking him over for signs of injury.

"You were with Luna." he said flatly.

"Yes." she took his hand in both of hers. "She's very ill right now, but she's going to be okay. This is something they can treat."

"Potter said she's in intensive care." Draco looked down at his hand, voice cracking. "The babies are going to kill her. She needs to get rid of them."

Narcissa pulled him into her arms, pressing his head against her shoulder. "Sweetheart, this is just a temporary condition. The babies are healthy. Luna will be healthy once her system settles a bit."

"She's going to die and the babies will die with her." he moaned. "I can't do this again."

"I won't let them die." his mother promised. "Not this time. Not any of them."

* * *

Draco's mother had coddled him, falling into the role of nurturer as easily as breathing, and Draco for once let her. She made him eat soup and a cheese sandwich, one of his favorites when he was young, practically poured Dreamless Sleep down his throat and tucked him into bed in Greg's room. The old mansion had so many bedrooms from days gone by when there had been so many more Malfoys and they all clustered together for protection, there were some guest rooms that only one person had ever slept in during Draco's lifetime. Draco's childhood bedroom had been converted to the nursery and he couldn't bear the thought of even setting foot in the room he shared with Astoria, much less sleeping there. His mother seemed to know, as a mother should.

He grudgingly choked down tea and toast after Narcissa insisted he had to eat something for breakfast, and then flooed home.

The first thing he saw when he stepped out of the fireplace was the throw pillows on the couch. Luna had brought them, shortly after he had moved in, proclaiming his furniture too stuffy and uncomfortable. She had used them to snuggle up when she read, and there was a matching throw blanket under the cushion. After she had moved in, she had a habit of curling up on the couch under that blanket and reading in one of his shirts or even just her underwear. He had fussed the first few times, asking why she wouldn't put on more clothes if she was cold and she would tell him to come keep her warm, until he realized it was her way of telling him she didn't really want to be reading.

There was a squawk from the utility room off kitchen, and he walked in to find Apollo, his owl, protesting that his dish was empty. Draco automatically opened the bottom drawer and scooped a cupful of feed, discovering the container was almost empty. He tried to remember the last time he had bought owl food, but then realized he hadn't. Luna did.

He stepped back into the kitchen, realizing that Luna had bought nearly everything in it. Draco only replenished the tea and eggs and bread when he ran out. He headed upstairs, past the picture in the hall Luna painted, to the bedroom where he had slept with Luna, to the bathroom stocked with his favorite toiletries, all bought by Luna. He took a shower, hoping to clear his head, but when he was done, he found his face buried in a towel that smelled like Luna's unique cleaning charm. Once dressed, he whistled for Apollo. He scrawled a note and sent off with the bird, then huddled in the sitting room.

Twenty minutes later, Harry Potter stepped out of the floo.

Draco looked up at him, drained and defeated. "More bad news?" he asked hoarsely.

Potter frowned. "No. Your secretary sent me."

He didn't say "Again" but they both heard it.

"Melodramatic bint." Draco huffed without any real emotion. "I sent her a message."

"You wrote 'I'm not dead.'" Potter snorted. "That frightened her more than not hearing from you at all."

Draco shrugged but didn't answer.

"A bit early in the day to be drinking, don't you think?" Potter motioned at the cup in Draco's hands.

"It's just tea." Draco rolled his eyes. "I don't drink alcohol."

Potter made a noise of disbelief. "You, by all accounts were the one who used to sneak the firewhiskey into the Slytherin dorms. Since fourth year."

"I quit." Draco answered softly. "After I woke up one day face down in a puddle of my own vomit and realized if I died that way, you would probably be the one to find me. The thought of that scene being my final legacy was rathering sobering."

Potter quickly smothered his grin. Cheeky bastard.

"I'll go tell Julia that you're all right." Potter offered, stepping backwards. "Anything else I should tell her?"

"I probably won't be in for a few days." Draco sighed. "I'm going to move."

"Okaaaaaay." Potter drew out the word. "Are you going back to the Manor?"

Draco gave him a look that silently conveyed a shouted 'are you really that stupid?' "No, just going somewhere else."

"What are you going to do with this place?" Potter looked around the room.

"Luna can have it if she wants it." Draco shrugged, taking a sip of his tea.

Potter shook his head. "You threw her out of the house and now you're giving it to her?" Realization dawned on his face. "There are too many memories of Luna here. That's why you don't want to stay."

"Don't you have some Dark Lord wannabe to arrest?" Draco grumbled.

"Put your shoes on." Potter ordered.

"This is still my house." Draco looked at him pointedly.

"I'm taking you to see Luna." Potter folded his arms.

"Fuck you." Draco growled.

"Ginny wouldn't like that." Potter taunted. 'Now put your shoes on. Either you go with me willingly, or I'll arrest you and take you."

* * *

A/N - The comment by Harry there at the end was just a smart aleck statement, along the lines of "You don't have to call me Sir, professor." It was not intended as foreshadowing. This will not turn into a Drarry story. Please take a deep breath.


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